Voters To Decide On Electing School Boss

The Date: Sept. 8. The Decision: Whether To Appoint Or Elect The School Superintendent.

June 24, 1994|By Susan Jacobson of The Sentinel Staff

KISSIMMEE — Voters will go to the polls this September to decide whether to make an elected school superintendent a thing of the past in Osceola County.

School Board members this week reaffirmed their decision to place the volatile issue on the ballot during primary elections Sept. 8. In six previous elections, dating back 28 years, voters have rejected an appointed superintendent.

School Board member Martha Anderson urged the board to move the issue to November when more people traditionally vote.

But board Chairman Pete Edwards pressed for September, a time he said the most interested voters usually go to the polls and fewer issues are on the ballot. Edwards also said he wants the matter decided before November, when three board seats - including his - are up for grabs.

Osceola Superintendent Chris Colombo is one of 45 elected superintendents in Florida. The remaining 22 districts, including Orange, Seminole and Volusia, appoint their superintendents

Nationwide, only six states - all in the South - elect superintendents. Of those, South Carolina has just one, and Tennessee and Georgia are phasing out elected superintendents.

Proponents of elected superintendents - including Colombo - say they make school leaders more accountable to the people.

Those who favor appointed superintendents - including Edwards - say that system provides a larger, better-qualified pool of job applicants and slices through the gridlock that frequently surfaces when the board and superintendent disagree.

A committee is being formed to establish qualifications and duties of an appointed superintendent should voters approve the switch.